The Virtuous Concubine

On the street outside, a huge wedding procession meandered in, with loud gongs and drums and deafening joy, creating a warm and extraordinary festive atmosphere; in the middle was a colorful sedan chair carried by eight people surrounded by red satin, and the four corners of the sedan chair were decorated with gilded auspicious beasts. At the end of the procession followed a group of maids and servants who came with the dowry, all of whom had joy on their faces. Further behind was the dowry that was to be moved in this time, with a total of 168 boxes and baskets, stretching endlessly, which showed the strength of the Guarjia clan.

Originally they had planned on 180 dowries, the highest standard for the wives of princes. However, Yinzhen took into consideration that the crown prince's wedding was coming up soon and he did not want the wife's dowry to steal the limelight and overshadow the crown prince, so he ordered people to reduce the number of dowry bearers a little, and finally decided on 168 bearers, a number that was actually not at all low-key.

Su Peisheng led Malu and Bai Qian through the twists and turns of the mansion, turning several corners and passing three or four screens before Malu took a seat.

Malu looked around. This was a clever place, located very close to the front. Three sides were covered with purple bamboo screens, and only one side had two crystal bead curtains of different colors, hanging down densely, covering the people inside tightly. However, if one peeked outside, one could see the comings and goings of people outside reflected on the crystal curtains through the shadows.

What’s even more commendable is that this curtain looks like one of the two doors leading to the back of the main hall, but in fact it is very close to the direction one should worship when worshiping heaven and earth!

Malu was sitting here, and could indeed receive the greetings from him and Guaerjia.

It can be said that Yinzhen put a lot of thought into it.

When entering this room, what catches your eye is a large round table filled with a wide variety of delicacies, but there are only four chairs on it, which is completely different from the usual seating arrangement outside where people sit in a circle and make a lot of noise.

Seeing Malu looking at him with curiosity, Su Peisheng smiled flatteringly: "This is specially arranged by our Fourth Master considering that the Queen wants to keep a low profile this time. If the Queen likes the hustle and bustle and is willing to go out and socialize with other noble ladies, there is a seat reserved for you outside."

Malu nodded: "Old Four, you are thoughtful. This place suits my taste. I am not good at showing my face in public. But what are these four chairs for?"

Su Peisheng couldn't help laughing: "Your Majesty, in fact, the princess will most likely come to watch the ceremony today, but when you set out from the palace, the princess was still in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and now we don't know if it was successful. Of these four chairs, two are reserved for your Majesty and the princess, and the remaining two are prepared for tonight's bride and groom, so that the newlyweds will have a place to sit when they come to toast and pay their respects."

Malu suddenly realized what was going on and started to worry about Wen Xian: "Why didn't this kid tell me?"

In fact, Wen Xian had already known from the Fourth Prince that Malu was going to leave the palace.

Of course she wanted to go too, but she was afraid to ask Kangxi for help and follow the crowd. What if that displeased the emperor and caused Malu to miss this rare opportunity to leave the palace? So she waited until Malu and her fourth brother went out before going to the Qianqing Palace.

The main point is that once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back.

Malu didn't know, but she was very nervous and somewhat relieved. If Wen Xian had come with her, the prince would have to hide in the carriage all the way, but she also wanted her daughter to come. Just as she was about to send someone back to the palace to pass on a message and find out about Wen Xian's situation, Su Peisheng hurriedly said, "If everything goes well, the princess will be here in a cup of tea. I'll go and see her first. Your Majesty, why don't you take a seat and have some hot tea?"

Malu nodded and let Su Peisheng go.

Malu nodded in agreement. Wen Xian came out from behind the screen like a gust of wind. He almost scared Malu when he came in: "Mother! Mother!"

Malu saw her daughter's rosy smiling face and hugged her, saying, "You are so unruly. Sit down quickly."

The mother and daughter chattered for a while, and the atmosphere outside became increasingly lively.

Judging from the noise, the auspicious time has arrived.

The colorful sedan chair landed steadily in front of the mansion door. The curtain opened slightly, revealing first a pair of red shoes embroidered with exquisite flowers and winding branches. Then, Guaerjia walked out slowly with the help of her maid.

She was dressed in a bright red brocade dress with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes embroidered in gold thread. She wore a phoenix crown on her head with sparkling pearls and swaying green feathers, exuding wealth and nobility!

Outside, people were going through the archery and fire-boiler jumping exercises. Wen Xian was a young, lively and curious girl. While everyone's attention was focused on the door, she quietly lifted the curtain to look outside, but was pulled back by Malu himself.

"What if you are discovered while peeking around? Then, I will ask you to entertain those ladies outside and appease Concubine Hui and others who say that the emperor is partial to the Yonghe Palace."

Wen Xian stuck out his tongue, smiled playfully, and sat back in his original position.

Seeing that her eyes still drifted towards the beaded curtain from time to time, Malu laughed at her: "Why are you so curious? Are you jealous?"

Wen Xian was a little dissatisfied when he heard this: "Mother, I just want to see something new. It will be more interesting to see it with my own eyes. Aren't you curious about what the bride wears and what she looks like?"

Malu smiled gently and calmly: "Tomorrow your fourth brother will bring his bride to Yonghe Palace to pay his respects to me. I will be able to see her. At that time, I will have plenty of opportunities to take a closer look."

Wen Xianfa keenly noticed that his mother did not mention the matter of clothes. He remembered that his mother entered the palace as a concubine and might regret that he had not worn any, so he quickly shut his mouth and said nothing.

Malu actually had nothing to regret. She had worn wedding dresses that were even more luxurious and gorgeous than this before, but the only person she had seen them with was the prince.

Soon the wedding ceremony began. Wen Xian quickly stood up and walked to the side, letting Malu sit alone in the middle and accept the greetings from his parents. Then the Fourth Prince held the red silk and led Guaerjia to pay their respects in the direction of the imperial palace, which was considered a greeting to Kangxi.

Malu could not watch the subsequent steps such as entering the bridal chamber, sitting on the bed and spreading the tent.

But they could still hear the bustling sounds outside, and even the faint blessings read by the celebrant.

Malu smiled and covered Wen Xian's ears to prevent her from listening to things that a girl shouldn't hear.

Wen Xian broke free: "Mother, mother! Why don't you let me listen?"

"These are all private conversations during marriage. You are still young, so it is inappropriate for you to listen to them."

Wen Xian used her knack of persuading Kangxi to pull Malu's arm and shook it hard, insisting that Malu catch up with her on what she had just missed.

Malu couldn't remember, so she could only smile and recite to Wen Xian what the prince had recited to her that day: "The wedding ceremony falls on a spring moon, and the flowers compete for beauty. The phoenix flute locks the bamboo leaves, and the phoenix pipe harmonizes the delicate flowers. The two stars in the sky are together, and the two jades on earth are praised."